PLC programming
Siemens TIA Portal Program Structure and Best Practice
Structure a TIA Portal project so it stays readable for years, with function blocks, UDTs and live clean-up workshops.
Siemens TIA Portal Program Structure and Best Practice is a free, self-paced online course from EDWartens for engineering students, apprentices, technicians and working engineers in automation, electrical and instrumentation. It has 8 modules and takes about 12.1 hours, with written notes, a practice task per module, a practical project and a final assessment of 15 questions (pass mark 60%). Learning costs nothing and needs only a free account. The optional EDWartens Certificate of Completion, verifiable by code, is a one-off US$28.99 for you; it is not a vendor credential. Updated 1 November 2026.
- Free
- Intermediate
- 12.1 hours
- Self-paced
- Certificate optional
No card, no trial. The course is free for good. Certificate US$28.99, optional.
- Who it is for
- Engineering students, apprentices, technicians and working engineers in automation, electrical and instrumentation
- Jobs
- Roles that use this skill: PLC programmer, controls engineer, automation technician and commissioning engineer. No course guarantees a job.
- Tools
- The current TIA Portal trial (21 days) with S7-PLCSIM; V17 or later also works. Hardware: none, everything runs in simulation.
- Updated
After this course you can
By the end you will be able to:
- Start a TIA Portal project the right way
- Structure a program into modular function blocks
- Describe I/O and machines with UDTs
- Add a structured VFD control block
- Refactor a chaotic program into something a colleague can maintain
Who it is for, and what you need first
Who it is for
Engineering students, apprentices, technicians and working engineers in automation, electrical and instrumentation.
Level: Intermediate. Intermediate. You should already write ladder or FBD in TIA Portal; this course is about making it professional.
What you need
Software: The current TIA Portal trial (21 days) with S7-PLCSIM; V17 or later also works.
Hardware: None, everything runs in simulation. What to download, and how.
How this course works
Watch the lessons
Short video lessons, one module at a time, at your own pace.
Read the notes
Open the Reading tab for the written notes and diagrams of the module.
Check yourself
Answer the questions to see what stuck before you move on.
Final assessment
Pass the final once you have been through the modules.
Certificate, if you want oneOptional
Optional, with a page anyone can use to verify it.
What you learn
8 modules in order, at your own pace. 12.1 hours of video lessons, with written notes and a practice task in each module.
- 1Starting a Project the Right Way, and TIA Portal versus Simatic Manager25m
- 2Structuring a Program Like a Pro, and Why Projects Become a Mess45m
- 3Function Blocks: Expert Guide, Single and Multi-Instances, and Libraries50m
- 4UDTs for I/O and Machines; Arrays and Shift Registers32m
- 5A Structured VFD Control Block, and Uploading from a PLC47m
- 6Workshop: Building a Modular PLC Application in Two Hours2h 9m
- 7Live Workshops: Cleaning Up a Messy Program and Re-Organising Chaotic Data; TIA Portal versus Studio 50004h 15m
- 8Final Assessment
Software you need
What to download, where from, what it costs and how to install it. Every link goes to the maker's own site, never a mirror.
Show what to download (2 tools)
Required
- 01Free trial: 21 days
SIMATIC STEP 7 Professional and WinCC (TIA Portal) V21 Trial
Siemens
- Runs on
- Windows 11 Pro or Enterprise 64-bit (24H2), Windows 10 Enterprise 2021 LTSC, or Windows Server 2022/2025. Windows 11 Home is supported only for the Basic editions.
- Account
- A free Siemens account registered for Industry Online Support (SiePortal)
- Size
- about 8.1 GB for the main ISO, plus an optional 3.1 GB DVD 2 with hardware support packages
Siemens lets registered users download the V21 trial of STEP 7 (Basic and Professional), STEP 7 Safety and WinCC and test it for 21 days. The same package is used for the full product; after 21 days you need a purchased licence to keep working.
Steps
- 1.Open the Siemens trial page (entry 109989774) and sign in with your Siemens Industry Online Support account.
- 2.Download TIA_Portal_STEP7_Safety_WinCC_V21.iso (8.1 GB).
- 3.Download S7-PLCSIM_V21.iso (2.5 GB) from the same page: PLCSIM is a separate download.
- 4.Right-click each ISO, choose Mount, and run Start.exe as administrator. Install STEP 7 and WinCC first, then PLCSIM.
- 5.Follow the setup, accept the licence terms and restart the PC when asked.
- 6.Open TIA Portal V21 and create a new project to confirm it runs.
- Install from a local drive with plenty of free space; Siemens lists 20 GB free as the minimum and the ISOs alone are over 10 GB.
- You only need DVD 2 if you want extra hardware support packages.
- If you cannot install locally, Siemens also offers a 21-day TIA Portal Cloud trial in the browser (one-hour sessions, not in every country).
Official download pagesupport.industry.siemens.comAlternatives
- TIA Portal Cloud trial: 21 days free in a cloud virtual machine, no install. Sessions are limited to one hour and it is not available in every country.
- 02Free trial: 21 days
S7-PLCSIM V21 (TIA Portal) Trial
Siemens
- Runs on
- Windows 11 Pro or Enterprise 64-bit (24H2), Windows 10 Enterprise 2021 LTSC, or Windows Server 2022/2025. Windows 11 Home is supported only for the Basic editions.
- Account
- A free Siemens account registered for Industry Online Support (SiePortal)
- Size
- about 2.5 GB (ISO)
S7-PLCSIM V21 is offered as a 21-day trial on the same Siemens page as the STEP 7 and WinCC V21 trial. It needs STEP 7 V21 installed on the same PC.
Steps
- 1.Open the Siemens STEP 7 and WinCC V21 trial page (entry 109989774) and sign in.
- 2.Install STEP 7 V21 from the main TIA Portal ISO first.
- 3.Download S7-PLCSIM_V21.iso (2.5 GB) from the section Download S7-PLCSIM Standard V21.
- 4.Mount the ISO, run Start.exe as administrator and follow the setup.
- 5.In TIA Portal, select your CPU and click Start simulation to open PLCSIM.
- Siemens notes that the PLCSIM Standard V21 installation also includes S7-PLCSIM Advanced V8.0.
Official download pagesupport.industry.siemens.com
Checked against each maker's own page on 27 September 2026. Trial lengths and editions change; the maker's page is the final word.
What you practise
Course project, about 16 hours
Six-conveyor packing line: rebuild a 900-network OB1 as an FB library with UDTs and prove nothing changed
Rebuild a working six-conveyor program from one flat OB1 into a block library: a conveyor FB, a drive FB, UDTs and multi-instances. Prove with a regression test that the line behaves as before, and record the one approved change in a change notice.
- 6documents in the pack
- 9steps to follow
- 5things to hand in
- 16 hof work, at your pace
- SDSSoftware Design Specification: Packing Line PK-2 Program Re-engineering
- Control narrativeSequence of Operations: Packing Line PK-2, as Implemented
- I/O listI/O List: Panel CP-2, Packing Line PK-2
- Tag listPLC Tag List and Naming Convention: PK-2
- FATRegression Test Record: Old Program against Rebuilt Program, PLCSIM
- Change noticeDesign Change Notice: Run-Feedback Monitor on Conveyor C-4
The project is optional practice. The certificate needs only the modules and the final assessment.
Free 3D lab
PLC lab
Practise in your browser. Free, nothing to install.
After the course, your next step
Show what you can do, then keep going in the same field.
A certificate you can verify
Finish the modules and pass the final assessment (15 questions, pass mark 60%) and you can add a certificate with a public verification page. One-off, US$28.99 for you. It is not a vendor credential.
Want a free certificate? Do the matching Free internship: 4 weeks, nothing to buy, with a free certificate of completion.
PLC Programming
Eight short weeks of PLC ladder logic on free simulators: notes, diagrams, a few videos and auto-tested tasks. Finish weeks 1 to 4 and the final, then claim a free Internship Completion Certificate with your real dates and study hours, and a QR code anyone can scan to verify it. Training, not employment.
See the internshipPart of a learning path
Courses in a planned order, so each one builds on the last.
More free courses
Roles that use this skill
- PLC programmer
- Controls engineer
- Automation technician
- Commissioning engineer
These are the kinds of roles where the skill is used. We make no promise of a job or an interview.
Plain notes
- Free: the whole course, the notes, the practice tasks, the final assessment and support from practising engineers.
- Paid, and optional: the course certificate, and the Engineer-verified internship (the Free internship costs nothing).
- No job promise: the course teaches a skill. It does not place you in a job.
- Lessons by: PLCskilltree, FriendsInTech Automation. Independent creators; the lessons stream from their own channels. EDWartens wrote the study plan, notes, practice tasks and assessments.
PLCskilltree · FriendsInTech Automation. If you are one of these creators and want a lesson removed or credited differently, write to info@edwartens.com.
Why learn with EDWartens
What you get with this course, and what comes after it.
- Free from the first lesson to the final assessment.
- Video lessons with written notes and a project.
- An optional certificate that anyone can verify online.
- Free internships to keep practising afterwards.
Common questions
Is this a beginner course?
No. It assumes you can already write working logic. It teaches how to arrange that logic so a whole team can work on it.
Why are there two-hour workshops?
Because structure is learned by watching a real program being reorganised, decision by decision. The notes give you the checklist; the workshops show it applied.
Is the Siemens TIA Portal Program Structure and Best Practice course really free?
Yes. Every module, practice task and assessment. You create an account so your progress is saved and the assessments can be marked. The certificate is the only paid item, and only if you want it.
What certificate do I get, and is it a Siemens qualification?
An EDWartens Certificate of Completion, issued when you pass the final assessment, with a verification code anyone can check. It is not a Siemens credential and is never described as one.
Who made the video lessons in the Siemens TIA Portal Program Structure and Best Practice course?
The creators named in the Credits block at the foot of this page, on their own YouTube channels. EDWartens did not make the videos and the creators are not affiliated with EDWartens. What EDWartens wrote is the study plan, the notes, the practice tasks and the assessments.
How long does the Siemens TIA Portal Program Structure and Best Practice course take?
Plan on about 12 hours in all, including the video lessons, notes and practice tasks. It is self-paced, so you work through the eight modules at your own speed.
What software and hardware do I need?
TIA Portal V21 (V17 or later also works) with S7-PLCSIM, which runs on Siemens' 21-day trial. No hardware is needed, because everything runs in simulation.
What topics does the Siemens TIA Portal Program Structure and Best Practice course cover, module by module?
The Siemens TIA Portal Program Structure and Best Practice course has 8 modules. It opens with "Starting a Project the Right Way, and TIA Portal versus Simatic Manager", goes through "Structuring a Program Like a Pro, and Why Projects Become a Mess", "UDTs for I/O and Machines; Arrays and Shift Registers", "A Structured VFD Control Block, and Uploading from a PLC" and "Live Workshops: Cleaning Up a Messy Program and Re-Organising Chaotic Data; TIA Portal versus Studio 5000" and ends with "Final Assessment". The full list with minutes is under "What you learn" on this page.
What can I do after the Siemens TIA Portal Program Structure and Best Practice course?
After the Siemens TIA Portal Program Structure and Best Practice course: Start a TIA Portal project cleanly and know what TIA Portal changed from SIMATIC Manager; Structure a program into modular blocks that scale; Use function blocks with single and multi-instances correctly. These are the practical outcomes the course is written around, and the final assessment of 15 questions checks them.
What software and hardware do I need for the Siemens TIA Portal Program Structure and Best Practice course, and does it cost anything?
For the Siemens TIA Portal Program Structure and Best Practice course, software: The current TIA Portal trial (21 days) with S7-PLCSIM; V17 or later also works. Hardware: none, everything runs in simulation. The course itself is free.
Is the Siemens TIA Portal Program Structure and Best Practice course suitable for me, and what level is it?
Siemens TIA Portal Program Structure and Best Practice is rated intermediate. Intermediate. You should already write ladder or FBD in TIA Portal; this course is about making it professional. It is written for engineering students, apprentices, technicians and working engineers in automation, electrical and instrumentation, and takes about 12.1 hours at your own pace.
Which jobs use the skills from the Siemens TIA Portal Program Structure and Best Practice course?
Skills from the Siemens TIA Portal Program Structure and Best Practice course (for example: start a TIA Portal project cleanly and know what TIA Portal changed from SIMATIC Manager) are used in roles such as PLC programmer, controls engineer, automation technician and commissioning engineer, and in automation engineer work. The course gives you practical evidence of the skill; it does not promise a job, and employers decide on experience and interview.
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Siemens TIA Portal Program Structure and Best Practice, at your own pace. Add the certificate only if you want one.